David Lassman / The Post-StandardDwight DeLee enters Judge Walsh's courtroom on Wednesday. A jury found DeLee guilty of first-degree manslaughter on Friday.

Moses Cannon

Syracuse -- A county court jury this morning found Dwight DeLee guilty of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime in the fatal shooting of Moses Cannon last November.

This was the first hate crime homicide trial held in Onondaga County.

DeLee, 20, of Gifford Street, now faces a minimum of 10 years in state prison, and a maximum of 25 years, when he is sentenced by Judge William Walsh Aug. 18.

The jury of six men and six women acquitted DeLee of a more serious charge of second-degree murder as a hate crime.

The manslaughter finding was a determination that DeLee was only intending to seriously injure -- not kill -- someone when he fired one shot from a .22-caliber rifle into the car in which the victim was sitting with two others.

Cannon, 22, has been described by relatives as a transgender person who went by the name Lateisha "Teish" Green. The hate crime prosecution was based on allegations the victim was targeted based on sexual orientation.

The verdict came about 20 minutes after the jurors finished hearing a read back of testimony from the Lateisha Green's brother, Mark, who was sitting next to the victim in the car and identified DeLee as the shooter.